XV NExT PhD Workshop: Future Horizons in Particle Physics and Cosmology

Europe/London
Cosener's House

Cosener's House

15-16 Abbey Cl Abingdon OX14 3JD UK
Nikolas Kauer (Royal Holloway, University of London), Stephen West (Royal Holloway, University of London)
Description

The 15th NExT PhD workshop will be held at the Cosener's House, Abingdon, 14-17 July 2025. 

The NExT PhD workshop is the Summer School of the NExT Institute, targeting PhD students working in theory, experiment and phenomenology within particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology. Other than to PhD students from the NExT Institute nodes, it is also open to those from all other UK institutions.

The programme includes five lecture series on current topics in high energy physics, with an emphasis on cutting edge developments, networking and panel events discussing careers inside and outside of academia, and dedicated sessions for student talks and poster presentations.

Zoom link: https://ukri.zoom.us/j/98859636291?pwd=2epkahDl6ckdjHo5srePAJ9xdcppOp.1

Passcode: 108398

Please fill in the student survey after the workshop!
https://app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/stfc/2025-student-feedback-form


Lectures:

Phenomenology of String/M-Theories

Bobby Acharya, International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy/King’s College London

Beyond WIMPs – Exploring Novel Dark Matter Candidates

Juri Smirnov, University of Liverpool (UKRI Future Leaders Fellow)

Probing Fundamental Physics with Quantum Sensors

Richard Howl, Royal Holloway University of London

Neutrino Experiments – Past, Present and Future

Nicola McConkey, Queen Mary University of London (STFC Ernest Rutherford Fellow)

Precision Monte Carlo for the Large Hadron Collider

Jonas Lindert, University of Sussex (former STFC Ernest Rutherford Fellow)

PhD participation:

Accommodation, tuition and catering are free of charge for STFC and self-funded PhD students. We also have similar support for a limited number of other PhD students from the NExT Institute nodes. Depending on budget, travel may also be (partially) refunded, so please retain travel receipts.

The total number of PhD participants is limited to 38, with precedence being given to those in year 1, so please try to register promptly to ensure your participation. PhD students are encouraged to discuss their research in dedicated sessions via poster and talk presentations.

Student talks & poster session

Students are encouraged to submit abstracts for a short (15'+5') talk or to present a poster at the poster session on Tuesday evening. Small prizes will be awarded for the best student talk & poster.

If you would like to give a talk, you can submit an abstract via the call for abstracts page. Limited slots are available so these will also be moderated by the organisers.

If you would like to present a poster, please fill in the relevant section in the registration form.

We ask students to have their poster printed in advance and bring it to the workshop. The required format is A1 or A0, portrait

Career development events: 

SEPnet employer panel

This event is aimed at raising awareness of career opportunities outside academia for physics doctorates. Panel representatives, all with physics or PhD backgrounds, will spend a few minutes outlining their role, what their organisation does, what skills/knowledge they are looking for and why they might be interested in physicists. The panel session will be followed by a Q&A session and an opportunity for students to talk to employers in small groups.

Academic careers panel

A selection of academics at various career stages will participate in a Q&A session and round table discussion about the academic career path.

Topics: 

Physics beyond the Standard Model, Phenomenology of String/M-Theories, Dark matter, Neutrino Experiments, Quantum Technologies, and Precision Simulations for the Large Hadron Collider

 

Organisers: 

 

Nikolas Kauer (co-chair, Royal Holloway University of London, i.e. RHUL)

Stephen West (co-chair, RHUL)

Ulla Blumenschein (Director of NExT PhD school, Queen Mary University of London)

Neda Darvishi (RHUL)

Jacob Linacre (Rutherford Appleton Laboratory)

Richard Howl (RHUL)

Sponsored by STFC and SEPnet.

Registration
    • Registration and welcome coffee
    • Overview
    • Precision Monte Carlo for the Large Hadron Collider: Lecture 1

      Dr Jonas Lindert

    • 12:30
      Lunch
    • Precision Monte Carlo for the Large Hadron Collider: Lecture 2

      Dr Jonas Lindert

    • Phenomenology of String/M-Theories: Lecture 1

      Prof Bobby Acharya

    • 16:00
      Coffee break
    • Student Talks
    • 18:30
      Dinner
    • Phenomenology of String/M-Theories: Lecture 2

      Prof Bobby Acharya

    • Neutrino Experiments – Past, Present and Future: Lecture 1

      Dr Nicola McConkey

    • 11:00
      Coffee break
    • Precision Monte Carlo for the Large Hadron Collider: Lecture 3

      Dr Jonas Lindert

    • Launch
    • Beyond WIMPs – Exploring Novel Dark Matter Candidates: Lecture 1

      Dr Juri Smirnov

    • Probing Fundamental Physics with Quantum Sensors: Lecture 1

      Dr Richard Howl

    • Coffee break
    • Academic careers panel session
    • 17:30
      Poster session and dinner
    • Phenomenology of String/M-Theories: Lecture 3

      Prof Bobby Acharya

    • Neutrino Experiments – Past, Present and Future: Lecture 2

      Dr Nicola McConkey

    • SEPnet careers round table
    • Coffee break
    • SEPnet careers round table
    • Launch
    • Neutrino Experiments – Past, Present and Future: Lecture 3

      Dr Nicola McConkey

    • Beyond WIMPs – Exploring Novel Dark Matter Candidates: Lecture 2

      Dr Juri Smirnov

    • Coffee break
    • Probing Fundamental Physics with Quantum Sensors: Lecture 2

      Dr Richard Howl

    • Student Talks
    • Dinner
    • Beyond WIMPs – Exploring Novel Dark Matter Candidates: Lecture 3

      Dr Juri Smirnov

    • Probing Fundamental Physics with Quantum Sensors: Lecture 3

      Dr Richard Howl

    • Coffee break
    • Student Talks
    • Launch
    • Final remarks and summary